The Lego Movie 2 Is Less Awesome Than The First One... But Still A Lot Of Fun

The Lego Movie was an out of nowhere hit that has gone on to spawn two spin-offs (Lego Batman and Ninjago).  I didn't see that one in the theater, but have since come to love its irreverent charm and self-reflexive nature.  It was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and featured their distinct style and charm (See:  21 and 22 Jump Street).  They are only around as writers this time around and you can slightly feel their lack of presence with The Lego Movie 2.

It picks up 5 years after the events of the first film.  The alien invaders from the Sistar (this movie essentially shows how fun it is to play with your siblings, hence the "sis" in Sistar) system have rendered the "Everything Is Awesome" world of the first film to an apocalyptic wasteland.  Emmitt, the hero of the first film (voiced by Chris Pratt), seems to be the only one having a good time anymore.  Everyone else has become a brooding shell of themselves, including Emmitt's girlfriend Wyldstyle (voiced by the always likable Elizabeth Banks).  As far as plot goes, that's really all I can go into detail about because, like the first one, this film is all over the place.  It essentially boils down to this.  Queen Whatevra Wannabe (a delightful Tiffany Hadish) must marry Batman to join the two universes before they're locked away in the Bin of Storage (mom's going to take away the toys if you kids can't get along!).  If this all sounds silly to you, that's the point.  The film is essentially a series of vignettes showcasing the various voice talents.  It knows the audience is largely in on the joke and that's a big part of the fun. 

Like I said in my title, The Lego Movie 2 isn't quite as fun as the original.  There's a lot of fun parts to it, but the pieces don't quite come together cohesively enough for me to rate it as high as the original.  However, it's a great family movie that audiences, both young and old, can enjoy together.  I'm giving it 2.75 stars out of 4.  There's some fun songs and amusing moments with Batman (the true star of the series) that will have you laughing long after the (enjoyable) credits roll.

Speaking of family... My favorite part of this movie was that I got to take my son to it for his first theater experience.  I was worried he wouldn't sit through the entire movie, but I'm proud to say that he did.  Movie going has been such a passion of mine that I'm really happy to add my son to it.  He did ask how much longer we had about an hour and twenty minutes into it, but didn't get too antsy.  It does drag a little at the end as it tries to put everything together, but at no point was I bored.  I've dreamed of taking my son to the movies since before I had him and now I can't wait to see more movies with my new movie buddy.  He already wants to go see the How To Train Your Dragon sequel next weekend.